and although vacancies are currently hard to come by -- >> there's always room for one more. i cannot bring myselves to turn them away. coming up on "good morning america," an "american idol" extravaganza. >> that is coming up on just moments away, new information to be released this morning on the devastating fire that destroyed a mansion. >> a veteran of the fire department is facing serious charges. >> a busy weekend for metro. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live and in hd, this is "good morning washington," on your side. good morning, washington.

i am doug mckelway. >> and i am greta kreuz. alison has the morning off. your traffic and weather together every 10 minutes. >> we have talked through the week that we would see the drier air moving in. this morning, some 50's on the map. los 60's in rockville. with low humidity, it feels so good out there. your forecast today, lots of sunshine, mostly sunny. a few passing clouds. it feels great. a light breeze. we do have a major heat wave possibly arriving this weekend. let's say good morning to lisa baden. >> we have one minor crash on the georgetown pike near old dominion drive.

we are fabulous around the beltway. i will take you to a couple of pictures so you can get a feel of the paste. the pavement is dry. headlights on 95 virginia out of springfield. our next camera takes us to 270 at democracy boulevard. now to the news desk. >> thank you. we are a few hours away from a report to be released on last week's fire in northwest. >> neighbors are worried because of low water pressure made a bad fire worse. pamela brown is live with more. >> when firefighters arrived on july 29 and hooked up to the fire hydrants, there was a big drop in water pressure and at one. the water ran dry. they had to go five blocks to

get water. the fire on july 29 swept through the home of peggy cooper cafritz has left neighbors with a lot of what ifs. fire officials point to a lack of water pressure as their reason for taking nearly two hours to battle the flames. if they did not waste time bringing water in, could the home have been salvaged? >> it is a definite concern. >> neighbors say a lack of water pressure has been a problem. it is common in higher elevations. they will work closely to figure out what happened. >> we have people testing the system right now. we are in investigation mode. >> this has been a concern for the past couple of years.

the georgetown library erupted in france -- in flames. there was a condo complex in adams morgan with the same problem. they are in the process of replacing the aging fire hydrants. there will be a press conference at 9:00 a.m. with mayor fenty. pamela brown, abc 7 news. >> thank you. a veteran firefighter is off the job and facing charges after police say he tried to solicit sex from a teenage girl online. when mothershead -- wayne mothershead was arrested after arranging to meet up with a girl and a gaithersburg shopping center. >> when the suspect arrived, he was arrested and charged with a -- with solicitation of a minor.

>> he was busted and was released on $100,000 bond and placed on administrative leave with pay. if you ride metro, you cannot expect delays this weekend. red hot line riders should allow an extra 30 minutes. -- red line riders should allow an extra 30 minutes. orange line riders should also add 30 minutes. there will be delays at nights on the blue and yellow lines beginning late sunday night. you can see of money on school supplies in virginia. from now through sunday, you will not have to pay tax on school supplies costing $20. both maryland and the district

did away with the programs to save money. creigh deeds is getting a high profile boost from barack obama. he appeared at a fund-raiser last night. this is the first joint campaign appearance. >> i am still trying to get used to the fact that the president of the united states flew marine one to northern virginia for me. >> you n move forward by electing somebody cut from the same cloth, creigh deeds. >> this is one of only two governor's races this year. the other one is in new jersey. deeds is trailing bob mcdonnell 51% to 37%. pager and fenty has signed a

broad crime jail -- a crime bill. he signed it yesterday. it includes tougher penalties for those who target the homeless. it requires the mayor to create an interim basis -- an intervention group. we have a much cooler 63 degrees. >> cash for clunkers thrown a lifeline. the popular program gets more money. we will tell you how long it is expected to last. >>

5:10 on this friday morning. your traffic and weather together every 10 minutes. . >> adam caskey has more on the forecast. >> we have moved closer to dal it is verythat that the m the mngor -- wewe ar65dee gree here on thea. eou fou in fldou find heatwerb.

accident hencster, 55. heos e the arthe four coolest numbers we could find. here is our forecast. a great day. hour winds were kicked around to the north. drier air moved into the region. low humidity. a lot of sunshine. a few patchy, scattered clouds of this afternoon. high temperatures in the mid 80's. much cooler than the past couple of days. a big warmup to talk about this weekend. >> we have a big warmup going on as far as the rush hour. it is all good. we will take you to some cameras. the approach of 270 southbound, right side of your screen is the

southbound direction moving assets -- moving at speed. virginia, good, 95, 395, 66. nothing to report out of southern maryland. 210 is good. southeast washington is quiet. >> thank you. easy job so far this morning. 5:12. >> trying to sleep and could not on the trip home. >> bill clinton speaks out a day after bringing two journalists

>> you are watching abc 7's "good morning washington," with doug mckelway, alison starling, meteorologist brian van de graaff, weather, and lisa baden, traffic. this is "good morning washington," on your side.

in our top stories, the cash for clunkers program has been new lease on life. the senate voted to give an additional $2 billion to that program. you now have more time to trading your gas guzzler for a rebate on a new car. sonia sotomayor will be sworn in tomorrow estimation's first hispanic supreme court justice. nine republicans supported the democrats. she is the third woman ever named to the high court. she will replace justice souter. a friend of the hikers captured in iran said they made an honest mistake. he said they had no idea they were nearing the iranian border

and were preparing to turn around. bill clinton is speaking out about his trip to north korea. laura ling and euna lee arrived in the u.s. on wednesday. there were arrested in north korea back in march. they were pardoned after talks with mr. clinton and kim jong il. >> my job was to do one thing, which i was honored to do as an american and as a father. i wanted those young women to be able to come home. >> mr. clinton and kim jong il spoke about north korea's nuclear program. he said they would not make north korea safer. 5:16. your traffic and weather together every 10 minutes. >> lisa baden, so far so good?

>> yes. i did not have any accidents. things are good around the beltway. baltimore washington parkway looks spectacular. good on the greenway and on the toll road. quiet on route 7. i will give you a glimpse of traffic, non existent near holy cross hospital. >> outside we have temperatures this morning on the cool side, some places in the 50's off to the west. 63 in annandale. the dew points are indicating the air is much more comfortable. some other numbers across the area -- gaithersburg, low 60's. all of the energy from yesterday is finally breaking. we will call it partly to mostly sunny skies.

high pressure is settling in. there will be a more dry air mass to make it more comfortable. temperatures in the mid 80's. it will feel much better. this is a short lived pattern. clouds will start to move them. winds will start to shift. that will transport some milder air. temperatures will be about 90 degrees tomorrow. that is nothing. by sunday, we are in the mid and upper mid 90's. same deal for monday. we could have heat index numbers over 105. low 90's all next week. some thunderstorms could help cool a spell. that is your forecast. enjoy today. >> thank you. sprint has unveiled a

biodegradable phone. >> and online turbitribute to ja child. >> hackers take down twitter. they are recovering after going down several hours on thursday. a site was inundated by hackers preventing legitimate users from getting through. facebook was also a target the was never fully out of commission. some of the most popular sites are vulnerable to hackers. sprint and samsung are teaming up to bring you a new green cell phone. this one is packed with features including a slide out keyboard. it goes on sale august 16 for $50. the iphone has many talents, but only recently apps have

permitted and true in car navigation system. one of phone was taken for ride and it was a bit bumpy. >> i had issues with the sound. sometimes the directions came too late. the routing was imprecise. the biggest problem is you cannot have the app running when the phone rings. right now i will take a pass. >> the highly anticipated movie "julie & julia " arrives in theaters today. if you cannot get enough of the legendary chef, you cannot log onto our website for some memorable moments from "good morning america." it features highlights from r appearances on "good morning america," including some of her

favorite recipes. those are your tech bytes. i am vinita nair. a remarkable comeback by the nationals last night. they are on a hot streak. >> later on "oprah," teenage couples and sex at 14. when mom is outraged. she is speaking out.

it is a long road back to

respectability, but the nationals are a long way from the national shame they were at the all-star break. they fell behind early 6-0 yesterday. m riggleman has these guys hustling and believing. they rallied back and won the game 12-8. >> i think we're playing better. we realize it is us out there playi. we need to step up our game. >> they will go for some straight wins tonight as they play host to arizona. >> another receiver injured. that is the way it has been going for the redskins. santana moss on the sidelines with a hamstring issue. jim zorn said these are professional athletes who've

learned to listen to their own bodies. >> you do not mind losing them at this point in the year. the news continues at 5:30. >> a major announcement ahead on .in f flu

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which gives you more bandwidth than cable. so you can upload faster. so it's like comparing a horse and buggy to a sports car. am i the, uh, horse? (announcer) it's a whole new internet. only verizon's 100% fiber optic network makes uploading as easy as downloading. because your internet's not fast unless it's two-way fast. >> live and in hd, this is "good morning washington," on your side. good morning, washington. it is friday, august 7. i am doug mckelway. >> and i am greta kreuz. alison has the day off. your traffic and weather together every 10 minutes.

very comfortable outside. >> the dryer air is moving again. ifeels almost refreshing out there. it is not going to be here for a long time. today is your only chance to enjoy the dreyer pattern. a few clouds othe mostly sunny mostly sunny e 58 in bowie at 58. let's fcare.ost orecast. uistmoly sy.nn mostly sunny. lower humidity. temperatures will be in the mid 80's. all in all, a very nice one. tonight will be comfortable. not too bad. we will see some clouds start to

move again. look what happens for the weekend. he'd added humidity will start to build in. 90 degrees on saturday. sunday, upper mid 90's. we could have a heat index that you that feels like 105. ep an eye on that. they could put out a heat advisory to let you know we're looking at an extended stretch of heat and humidity. that could be coming down the pike for sunday and monday. gorgeous today. >> captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- ♪ it is a lovely day to day. not a lot of traffic around town. overnight construction in greenbelt is gone. georgetown pike, police tell us

they are with a crash. that is the only one. nothing to report on 66. quiet out of southern maryland. route 5 starts to slow down. let's go on the journey. i will do the driving. this is dulles airport. good on the greenway, the toll road, and this is the george washington parkway traffic north of the airport. >> thank you. metro meighen's work will intensify this weekend -- metro maintenance work will and testify -- will intensify. >> trains will be sharing one track. orange line riders should aired an additional 30 minutes. there will be delays at night on the blue and yellow lines beginning late sunday night.

grab your list and get your back-to-school shopping done this weekend. virginia's sales tax holiday begins today. matt brock is live with some details for us. >> i stepped out to a department store a week ago. i was astounded. i never shop. i was astounded by how much the markdowns war. retailers are working to get retailers -- to get shoppers back into the store. you can get another 5% off. check out tysons corner last year. >> you canee with a lot of money. >> this woman came all the way from baltimore. >> it is going to help us out. >> it is back on this weekend,

the tax free holiday. shoppers will be scared clothing items priced less than $100 and school supplies priced under $20. it comes at a time when other states and the district are pulling back. >> you have to bargain shop a little bit more. >> the district put its august sales tax holiday on the chopping block, saving the city about $640,000. >> i do not think it is a good way to attract people to purchase in the district. >> you see it there -- "tax rate." you can bet retailers are hoping it will help them out. it was very busy last year. virginia is expected to beat the shopping destination this weekend. the district and maryland

canceled their programs. matt brock, abc 7 news. >> thank you. a story you'll see only here on seven. a d.c. teacher said he has not been paid for months. dr. ollie nelson is a history teacher who taught summer school. he says the city four paychecks. he received to wonder $50 while they worked out the problem. >> is that going to cover me? for paychecks and you give me $250? >> out of 1400 summer school teachers, six have not been paid for various reasons. it will receive retroactive pay this week. work on the dulles rail project is stepping into high

gear. expect more construction in the coming weeks. it will run from falls church to reston. the second phase runs from reston to loudoun county. 30 snakes were found along with rats and an iguana. a teenager said he was breeding snakes. only a few survived the fire. investigators say fire was sparked by faulty extension cords. the first volunteers for the swine flu will roll up their sleeves later today in seattle. there are growing questions about safety. here is jeremy hubbard. >> the government once nearly 160 million americans to get the swine flu vaccine this fall.

they are testing whether the vaccine is safe. the first three volunteers will receive the vaccine later today in seattle. >> we should have early results during september, the first half of september. >> there's no reason to believe the vaccine will not be safe. >> we give these same types of vaccinations all the time to tens of millions of people. >> many remember 1976 when president ford ordered a mass of vaccination program. the vaccine killed more people than the flow. >> we know a lot more about vaccines. >> clinical trials might not identified some rare complications. the u.s. department of health

and human services and education will announce updated guidelines for school closings in the event of a swine flu outbreak. undecided is whether schools will be turned into vaccine clinics. >> we will find out. >> in about a month or so. 5:36. >> the latest on the deadly shootings inside a pittsburg jim. the victims are being remembered. >> 65 degrees in the district. the word today -- "refreshing." >> lisa baden will be back with another look at your morning commute. "good morning washington""

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come individually wrapped and they're perfectly sized to cook quickly and evenly in only 10 minutes. (announcer) perdue perfect portions. hello. i am from the ocean city beach patrol. remember, keep your feet in the sand until it lifeguard is in the stand. good morning, washington. it sounds like it's going to be a perfect beach weekend, hot and sunny. 5:39. your traffic and weather together every 10 minutes. >> adam caskey isive this morning by the tidal basin.

>> the word of the morning is "refreshing." if you're just stepping outside to walk your dog or a bike ride, you're going to be surprised. it is very comfortable, not what you were used to over the past couple of days. it feels like mother nature is laughing at us. ngmhiets ihi growing for the weekend that will beery different. d ofn we are at 65 currently. some mid 's out there. in annandale. vienna, up 60. 65n the district. s.w points are in th5'' that low h means lit humidity. hatwit ll change fort the wed.ek en some clouh tsois afisrnoon.

.abluek tie sayods we do notav h h the haze in the air. enjoyed this friday. take advantage of it. it will be a nice early friday. big changes for the weekend. we would get in-depth coming up shortly with brian. let's check in on the commute. >> no problems to report from the dock and ddo we will show you the pace of traffic -- no problems to report from the dvdot and ddot. things running smoothly by the american legion bridge. it looks good here at washington boulevard, 110. over to 66 with a live picture at glebe road. off to a good run.

greta and doug. >> thank you. 66 degrees. thercould be more roadside flashing cameras in september and more frustrated drivers.

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>> you are watching abc 7's "good morning washington," with doug mckelway, alison starling, meteorologist brian van de graaff, weather, and lisa baden, traffic. this is "good morning washington," on your side. checking our top stories at 5:45. dozens gathered remember the victims of the health club rampage. george sodini shot and killed three women before turning the gun on himself. reportedly felt lonely and rejected. there could be more flashing

lights in maryland in october. speed cameras can be set up within half a mile of schools and construction zones. there are plans to install more cameras to increase pedestrian safety. the film world has lost a legend. john hughes died yesterday. he cornered the teenage market in the 1990's. he directed "the breakfast club" and "paul malone." he was 58 years old. -- and "home alone." your traffic and weather together every 10 minutes. adam caskey is standing by. >> it is gorgeous out here. it is refreshing out here. it feels fantastic. it is not what we're used to.

we have had keep with humidity. it will be short lived. it is friday. enjoy it. by this weekend, you will feel the changes outside. we are near t b talidin. s.'50ng ininnng inth it'5's. it is very comfortable. ear the ear thed fi accidnd, 50. it fog in some outlying areas. here is the forecast. mostly sunny with a few patchy clouds. high temperatures in the mid 80's. low humidity levels. it will feel great today. tomorrow and into the weekend, changes will begin. there is an air mass from texas

into nebraska. it is a hot air mass and it is getting ready to move our way. we're getting excited for this nice comfortable weather. we will feel it when it gets here. >> we do have a transition. the heat will make its return tomorrow. then it will slap us across the face on sunday. temperatures near 90 tomorrow. you will feel the added heat and humidity. you'll notice it tomorrow and into sunday. when we get the heat and humidity, you get the heat index. that is what it feels like. the kids feel possibly like 105 degrees or so. if we do get into that dangerous zone. there will be keyed advisories'.

the city will open some of the cooling centers. you do not want to exert yourself. we will look towards the weekend. tomorrow is a transitional day. sunday will be a hot day. it will not just be for sunday. it will continue into monday as well with the heat and humidity. not much in the way of relef and storms. the sheep will have to be tolerated. hopefully -- the key to will have to be tolerated. hopefully you have a pool or a stream nearby. you will want to take advantage of cooling yourself down. next week, temperatures will not get much below the 90's. the 85 we have today is a treat

for you. enjoy it. >> plenty of treats on the highway. traffic is moving quickly at the american legion bridge. nothing to report as far as traffic on 95 between fredericksburg and the btway except an increase in volume. this is a pretty remarkable video. it was a close call. >> a police officer is counting his blessings. he stopped t help a driver with a flat tire. as the tire is pulled off the wall, a wheel brakes free of an 18-wheeler and flies by. deducing this? the sergeant said he did not know what hidden. -- did you see this? the truck driver never stopped.

>> that is unbelievable. >> now i saw it. >> just one more foot. >> easily. it goes bouncing down the road. >> look at that. >> i hope they find this trucker. >> he might not have known what happened. >> and then this is another amazing story. a north carolina man poked this record-breaking 1062-pound blue marlin. where is it? >> it is the big fish. >> it is a humongous! it is the white marlin opened in ocean city. this catch exceeds the previous record by more than 100 pounds. it took more than three hours to real in this fish.

>> that is something, it is in that? >> huge. >> that is a big fish. the pelican has never been thought about as a pretty song bird. this is amazing. somebody dropped a cell phone at the pelican in closure at the zoo. there were tossing it around like a beach ball. then one of them swallowed the cell phone. there is no mistaking samsung for salmon. i used to live in florida. i found a dead pelican and in his beak was the outline of a beer bottle. he must've thought it was a fish. the mistake all kinds of things

for fish. >> kind of like my dog. >>

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about six dollars. (announcer) use rid-x monthly to help keep your septic systems operating efficiently between pumpings. if it's not there, we dig by the septic tank 'til we find the problem. average repair costs six thousand dollars. monthly maintenance with rid-x? about six dollars. (announcer) use rid-x monthly to help keep your septic systems operating efficiently between pumpings. millions of people use the websites sweater were unable to send or receive messages because hackers attacked the site. >> have you confirmed that twitter is down when twitter is

down? that was the modern dilemma by millions who used suites. if there are too many tweets, they have a fail well. this crashed swallowed the well. facebook was also slow. it was a cyber attack. hackers use malicious e-mail to gain remote control of thousands of computers and then addressed them to swap the service. twitter is the fastest-growing form of communication. paul abdul had her "american idol"departure on twitter. all of this thanks to wait 3- year-old company from a small san francisco lost. >> people are in general good. >> it only takes one hacker to

affect the nature of millions. jake tapper say i went through with a drawl. another saw the sun for the first time in weeks. another girl said i actually did the job i got paid for. most did nothing, because every two minutes, they had to check on twitter. >> that is why i do not want to start. >> that is scary. >> coming up, u.s. efforts to get rid of the taliban may have gotten a major boost. >> i am pamela brown. i will tell you what the aging of fire hydrants is a focus into an investigation of the home in the palisades. >> lisa baden will be back with another look at your morning commute.

just moments away, new information to be released this morning on the devastating fire that destroyed a northwest mentioned. was low water pressure a factor? >> 8 fire department member s facing serious charges. >> d